Using ImmiAccount
ImmiAccount is the Department of Home Affairs’ online account for many of its services, including applying for a visa or for citizenship. Once you have applied, it is also where you check messages and your application’s status, update your details or withdraw the application.
Dotto is not a registered migration agent or lawyer, does not give immigration assistance or advice, and does not refer anyone to an agent. This is general information, not advice. Home Affairs’ ImmiAccount help pages have the final word; a registered migration agent or lawyer can advise on an application itself.
- Gate
- 02
- Service
- ImmiAccount
- Login
- Password and a 6-digit code
- Accounts
- Individual or organisation
Seat 2AWhat it is for, and what it isn’t
- lodge a visa or citizenship application
- seek an APEC Business Travel Card
- join Australian Trusted Trader
- request a visit to an immigration detention facility
- set up VEVO access for an organisation
- apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)
- check a citizenship application lodged on forms 1300t or 1290 before 17 April 2015
Both lists come from Home Affairs’ page on applying online in ImmiAccount, which names a few more uses. Home Affairs also asks you to read a visa’s or citizenship’s requirements in full before you apply.
Seat 2BTwo kinds of account
| Feature | Individual | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | An applicant, a family member acting for an applicant, or a friend helping with the application | Someone from an organisation, a registered migration agent, or someone from a sponsoring company |
| Extra step | Once it is created and secured, you can make an application | You choose the services you need and give a reason for each; the account is approved by your organisation’s account administrator or by Home Affairs |
| Approval time | Home Affairs’ page describes no approval step | Home Affairs says it usually approves an organisation account in 4 working days; until then it stays an individual account |
| Recommended password change | Every 180 days | Every 90 days |
If you made an individual account and needed an organisation one, you can ask to change it under “Manage Account”. Home Affairs warns that if you have applications in the account, you must also ask for the “Online Lodgement” service, or you lose access to those applications when the account type changes.
Seat 2CCreating an individual account
- Enter your email address, then the verification code sent to it.
- Choose “Individual” and enter your details.
- Enter the account details, read and accept the ImmiAccount terms and conditions, tick “I am not a robot” and submit.
- Set up multi-factor authentication when prompted. From then on you enter a 6-digit code each time you log in.
Usernames are unique. You can’t change one or use it again, even after deleting the account.
Seat 2DThe login code
Multi-factor authentication means a second check after your password: a 6-digit code. Home Affairs offers two ways to get it.
You add ImmiAccount to an authenticator app on your phone by scanning the QR code shown on screen, or by typing in the secret key shown there. The app then shows a code that changes every 30 seconds. Home Affairs doesn’t have an authenticator app of its own; its page names several free ones, and describes a way to do this on a computer too.
If you have no mobile device or prefer not to use an app, a code can go to your verified email address instead, and stays valid for 15 minutes. Home Affairs calls this less secure, because email accounts can be compromised, and suggests it only if absolutely necessary.
You can change the method later under “Manage account”.
Seat 2EGetting back in
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Wrong username or password 5 times | The account locks for 4 hours. Use the forgotten-password link and answer your secret questions to unlock it, or try again later. |
| Forgotten username | Use the forgotten-username link with your email address. The email lists every username that uses that address. Usernames aren’t case sensitive. |
| Forgotten password | Use the forgotten-password link with your username, follow the emailed link and answer your secret questions. Passwords are case sensitive, and Home Affairs can’t email you a temporary one. |
| No access to your authenticator app | Use the link for people who no longer have access to their multi-factor authentication app, then follow the emailed instructions to reset it. |
| Forgotten secret questions | Home Affairs asks you to reach the department through its help and support pages. |
If an expected email doesn’t arrive, check your spam or junk folder. Home Affairs lists other causes too: a mistake in the address, an address that is no longer valid, or one that doesn’t match the address on the account.
Seat 2FSharing an application
ImmiAccount lets you start a new application or continue a saved one, import an application, share one with another account, send an incomplete one to another account, or remove one. Home Affairs encourages registered migration agents to share applications with their clients.
If something still isn’t working after the steps above, Home Affairs’ ImmiAccount technical support form is the place to report it.